Will US withdrawal from Paris climate deal make a difference?

Trump’s announcement was taken as a serious blow by environmentalists and all those who backed the multilateral Paris climate deal, signed by nearly 200 countries in 2015.

But the time it would take for his announcement to translate into an official withdrawal is quite lengthy. Four years, to be exact.

“Three years after ratification, a government can submit a letter to withdraw,” explains Rob Bailey, research director of the Energy, Environment and Resources Department at UK-based think tank Chatham House. “Then one year after that letter is submitted, withdrawal can occur.”

That means that 2020 is the earliest the US could officially pull out of the deal. A critical year, Bailey notes, as “it’s when another presidential election is due”…

Trump to planet: Drop dead, CNN (06-01-2017)“America First” is becoming increasingly America alone. Somehow, Donald Trump has managed, with a single, desperate and ill-conceived stroke, to sever the United States from the rest of the world…